When you think about it, the number of times we lob greetings each day is staggering. We say hello to the postman and the newsagents, our teachers and classmates, our parents and anyone else we know by sight. We'll toss a saucy yo or ay-up to our mates, and respond with aight.
Korean society doesn't rise to the level of greetings we toss about daily. Indeed, some of the phrases Koreans use to acknowledge someone hardly seem like greetings.
For instance, take the common Korean greeting 'You're here?' - 왔어요? (wass-eo-yo?). This phrase gives off rude vibes, particularly if said with the standard, stoic delivery.
However, in Korean culture, this greeting is commonplace. In fact, it even has formal and casual forms. Those are besides the polite form we wrote.
Formality plays a huge role in Korean greetings. Even a simple 'Hi!' in Korean may cause trouble if said wrong. Failure to observe the system of honorifics could see you shut out of Korean society.
In this article, Superprof explains Korean greetings. We'll present different ways to say hello at three different levels of honour. We'll explain the correct usage for each greeting and how not to say hello in Korean.
Korean Greetings: an Overview
As we hinted at in this article's introduction, decorum forms the foundation of Korean society. So much so that linguists consider the Korean language hierarchical. Even among people born in the same year, how they greet each other depends on who was born first.
Let's say you were born in May and you're meeting a classmate who was born in September of the same year. As your junior, they would greet you formally. Your few months longer on this Earth gives you licence to greet them casually. This greeting pattern will endure throughout your association with that mate.
The same formula applies in a work setting. Your seonbae (선배), meaning 'senior', will always be your senior, even if you have the same birthdate and just got promoted to the same rank. That's because workplace experience is yet another social layer. Your seonbae has been doing that job longer than you have, so you must continue to greet them politely.
What of people born on the same date? Then, it comes down to birth hour and minute. Even twins make this distinction. The firstborn twin is 'nuna/eonni' - big sister and receives a higher level of formality. The dongsaeng (동생), meaning 'younger sibling', enjoys more casual treatment.
Of course, family dynamics and greetings are a bit different, as we'll see shortly. Still, it's not uncommon for classmates to determine their groups' hierarchy by drilling down to whichever qualifier will establish social rank. Occasionally, this exercise does come down to the hour and minute of one's birth.
Note: if you've only just started your Korean lessons, you must rely on Korean greetings' romanised spelling. Once you've mastered the Korean alphabet, you'll have no trouble reading this article's greetings, written in Hangul.
Greetings in Korean: Standard Greetings
Considering Korean culture's three levels of formality, hinting that a standard greeting exists is misleading. Even the most common 'hello' in Korean falls under the 'polite' header. Still, as you need to learn a form of greeting, an-nyeong-ha-se-yo (안녕하세요) must be it.
This polite 'Hello' in Korean is suitable when meeting new people for the first time. You may also greet your teacher, doctor, or any other official with 안녕하세요. First-time meetings with workmates/classmates need this greeting, too. However, you shouldn't say to them it once the ice is broken, lest you come across as standoffish or rude.
Once you've established relationship boundaries, you may start using an-nyeong (안녕). This shortened form, rather like 'Hi' in Korean, is a casual greeting between peers and mates. Note that you should only adopt this casual greeting if your seonbae suggests it. If you're the elder, you might encourage your mates to greet you that way.
You may never need to greet someone you just met formally but you should still know the highest-level general 'Hello' in Korean. Reserve the phrase an-nyeong-ha-sib-ni-kka (안녕하십니까) for company CEOs, venerated elders, or if you're speaking at a business gathering. It's on par with our "How do you do?", "Greetings", or "Salutations".
Of course, you mustn't ever count the number of times you greet someone before slipping into informality. Remember that Korean society is hierarchical. You might work with the same seonbae for a decade, greeting them at every shift. But you should never presume familiarity, lest you're angling for a tongue-lashing.
Hi in Korean: non-Standard Greetings
Around the world, societies have many greetings that fall outside the norm. These are words and phrases that don't make it into language learning textbooks. They may be slightly slangy or culture-based. Greetings in Korea tend to fall in the latter category.
Health is a priority in Korean culture, so health-related greetings are common. For instance, a child might ask their parent jal jass-eo-yo? (잘 잤어요?) - 'did you sleep well?' as they sit down to breakfast. To ask their grandparent that question, they would use the formal expression: an-nyeong-hi ju-mu-syeoss-eo-yo (안녕히 주무셨어요). Naturally, one should never pose such a question to anyone they are not familiar with.
Likewise, 밥 먹었어요? (bab meog-eoss-eo-yo) - "Have you eaten?". This greeting harkens back to the time when starvation was a fact of Korean life. Then, it was common to greet people this way and offer them food, often regardless of their response.
This dark period remains a part of the cultural conscience, manifesting in a greeting with three levels of formality. The casual bab meog-eoss-eo (밥 먹었어?) is for family and close friends. Grandparents and other elders should hear bab deu-syeoss-eo-yo? (밥 드셨어요?).
Before closing out this section, let's return to that rude-sounding "You're here?". Our culture might interpret this Korean greeting as "Oh, no! Not you, again!" or "What are you doing here?". In Korean culture, this phrase is simply a way to acknowledge someone's arrival. It's a bit like when we shout "I'm home!" to announce our presence.
Like most over Korean greetings, "You're here" comes with degrees of formality. In casual settings, such as those among friends, use wass-eo? (왔어?). Greeting workmates when they get to the team dinner, lob a polite wass-eo-yo? (왔어요?) their way. When grandma or grandpa arrive for a visit, greet them with o-syeoss-eo-yo? (오셨어요?) to show proper respect.
Many such greetings pass between family members, no matter whether they see each other every day or only on special occasions. 'You're here?', in particular, heralds the returning family member. Far from being rude, it's like welcoming them back into the family fold.
Conversely, the phrase jal ji-naess-eo-yo? (잘 지냈어요?) is suitable for relatives and friends you've not seen for a long time. It's a polite phrase that means "How have you been?". This greeting has no other level of formality.
Hello in Korean: The Hellos Never to Say
We summarise our list of Korean greetings by putting them in a chart. This way, you get an overview of the proper greeting for any situation. You'll also note when a greeting could cause an offence.
| Greeting | Hangul | Romanised | Level | When not to use |
| Hello | 안녕하세요 | an-nyeong-ha-se-yo | Polite | Among mates During formal occasions |
| Hi | 안녕 | an-nyeong | Casual | With elders/seniors |
| Salutations | 안녕하십니까 | an-nyeong-ha-sib-ni-kka | Formal | In daily transactions |
| Did you sleep well? | 잘 잤어요? | jal jass-eo-yo? | Polite | With strangers |
| Have you eaten? | 밥 먹었어요? | bab meog-eoss-eo-yo? | Polite | |
| Have you eaten? | 밥 먹었어? | bab meog-eoss-eo? | Casual | With strangers |
| Have you eaten? | 밥 드셨어요? | bab deu-syeoss-eo-yo? | Formal | With everyone except elders |
| Did you sleep well? | 잘 잤어요? | jal jass-eo-yo? | Polite | With people you just met |
| Did you sleep well? | 안녕히 주무셨어요 | an-nyeong-hi ju-mu-syeoss-eo-yo? | Formal | With people you're close with |
| You've come? | 왔어요? | wass-eo-yo? | Polite | |
| You've come? | 왔어? | wass-eo? | Casual | With elderly/workmates |
| You've come? | 오셨어요? | o-syeoss-eo-yo? | Formal | With casual mates/family |
| Hello (phone) | 여보세요? | yeo-bo-se-yo? | Polite | Any time besides answering the phone |
| How have you been? | 잘 지냈어요? | jal ji-naess-eo-yo? | Polite | If you saw the person recently |
This table arms you with suitable greetings for any situation and every level of formality. However, it omits the one 'greeting' you must avoid uttering at all costs.
In our culture, saying "Hey!" to someone is acceptable, so long as you say it with a friendly tone. By contrast, the Korean culture interprets Ya! (야) "Hey!" as rude in the extreme.
If you watch any Korean dramas, you might have heard an outraged character shout that word. They might have been angry or drunk, as is more likely. If someone is doing something wrong/bad, an onlooker might shout "Ya!". Teenaged boys might greet each other that way, just to prove their bad-boy credentials.
In such cases, it's borderline acceptable to announce your presence with a healthy "Ya!". Short of such circumstances, avoid this greeting at all costs.
Now that you know the basic words and phrases for greetings in Korean, you're ready to find native Korean speakers for conversation. Language exchange platforms give you the chance to find friends in Korea. Or maybe your Korean tutor can help you meet new friends.
Learn with the help of a qualified tutor in a Korean language course on Superprof!
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